Sorry, if I’ve been quiet lately. I was vacationing in Washington, D.C. Nothing official though I did visit the White House. I was just checking out the sights and doing a little research on the American Revolution. I even had… Continue Reading →

Sorry, if I’ve been quiet lately. I was vacationing in Washington, D.C. Nothing official though I did visit the White House. I was just checking out the sights and doing a little research on the American Revolution. I even had time to drop by The Art of Video Games at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Yes, my vacations are boring but they’re educational and they happen to get me prepped for Assassin’s Creed 3. But when I wasn’t exploring museums and monuments, I was playing portable games. Here’s what I was playing on my trip:

Courtesy of Nintendo

Pokemon Black Version 2 — It seems as though every time I take a break, there’s always a new Pokemon game coming out on the Nintendo DS. This isn’t a full-blown sequel but more of an expansion/remix of the original.

It occurs two years after the events of Pokemon Black/White. Players take on the role of a new protagonist and return to the Unova region. Pokemon Black Version 2 is geared more toward those who went deep into the first version. Veterans will see familiar faces in new roles, and they get to see the impact they made in the world.

To up the ante, those who played through the first one will also get extra flashbacks after they import they saved. Other than the new story, there are a few other visual tweaks and additions such as a Pokemon Movie Studio diversion. But otherwise, it’s mostly more of the same.

Side note: I learned a hard lesson when you restart on a new game. It’s mandatory to delete the previous save. You apparently can’t save over in this game. That’s how I lost hours of gameplay time. You have no idea how disconcerting that is.

New Little King’s Story — The first version of this game appeared on the Wii and it was phenomenal. Unfortunately, not many people played it. And that’s a crime because it was one of the best games that came out of 2009.

The best way to describe it is that it’s a mix of of Pikmin with a heavy RPG element as players take on the role of King Corobo and rebuild their kingdom after monsters take over their castle. They’ll have to scout subjects and give them jobs such as being a farmer or soldier. They’ll slowly take over territory from monsters and add buildings such as shopping districts and churches.

The PlayStation Vita version does a decent job of updating the graphics. But I miss the presentation of the original. The drawings and sumptuous classical music gave the Wii game some personality. The updated version sacrifices this with a more standard RPG format. The king and his subjects talk to each other through paneled windows. Boss fights aren’t introduced with the quirky cinematics. It lacks the overall fairy tale quality to it.

The other drawback to New Little King’s Story’s presentation is the voice acting. It’s like the sound of metal rubbing up metal or fingernails scratching paper.

The improvements the team do get right is in the gameplay. They added touch controls to make it easier selecting subjects for squads. Trust me, it’s something nice to have when your kingdom grows beyond 24 subjects. Another good move is that King Corobo can now enter the fray and attack. At the same time, he’s more vulnerable so the concept of attacking and retreating is even more important than ever.

Honestly, this was hard for me to put down on my trip. Even though it lacks the charm of the Wii game, it’s gameplay base is still great.

Courtesy of Atlus

Persona 3 Portable — After playing the original Persona, I didn’t understand the hype surrounding the series. The first entry was a confusing bit of supernatural and high school student drama. It was also boring. But this version I downloaded when Atlus had a sale was surprisingly good. Part of the reason I got into it was the music.

It’s good and it brings me back to the days of listening to songs like “Fly Me to the Moon” at end of a Neon Genesis Evangelion episode or putting “No Need for Promises” from The Vision of Escaflowne on repeat. (Yes, I was one of those people who bought anime soundtracks on CD.) The soundtrack to Persona 3 Portable has those catchy tunes that makes grinding more bearable.

The other part was that it was unusual but in a good way. There’s dating sim gameplay thrown into the mix. Meanwhile, exploring the world is oddly done. Players just move a pointer around a static room picking people to speak to and items to examine. But it’s in the exploration of the dungeons and the combat system where this RPG shines.

Side note: I would consider Persona 4 Arena my first real introduction to the series. But getting thrown into that world left me confused and a bit bewildered. Persona 3 Portable helped put things like Elizabeth, the Velvet Room and Personas in more context.

Courtesy of Sony

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita— This game comes on the heels of the LittleBigPlanet on PlayStation Portable and I wasn’t sure if it was needed. The PSP version was certainly capable and I questioned what an iteration on Sony’s newest gaming handheld could do. The most obvious thing and one feature that Double Eleven and Tarsier Studios does well is adding touch to the gameplay. Using green and blue blocks the developers add a new dimension to the platforming. Players now have to move blocks across the screen to overcome obstacles. They can even use the rear touch to push blocks outward to create platforms.

This idea is expanded upon, stretched and twisted in inventive scenarios in the worlds I explored so far. One of the more pleasant surprises were the minigame levels that required players to turn their Vitas vertically. The function uses the motion-sensing built into the system to figure out its orientation and the minigames incorporate the vertical screen in some fun diversions, including a Bust-a-Move clone that requires players to flick their matching stones with their finger. These games wouldn’t be out of place on a smartphone. Now if the developers or Sony could find a way to port these LittleBigPlanet game ideas to an Android or iOS device and they could be in business.